Vitamin D3 acts on the gut-liver-adipose tissue axis to modulate obesity-associated inflammatory changes in diet-induced obese mice

Background: Obesity and associated metabolic complications are increasing problems in industrialized countries. Serum 25-OH Vitamin D3 (VD3) levels negatively correlate with BMI, insulin resistance and NAFLD in humans. Methods: To explore the relevance of VD3 for obesity and NAFLD, C57BL/6 mice were fed high-fat diets (HFD) with different levels of VD3. Gene expression in liver and adipose tissue (AT) was analysed by qPCR. Serum parameters were determined by ELISA. Tissue-specific effects of VD3 were investigated in Vitamin D receptor (VDR)-deficient mice (VDR-KO) and VDR-KO mice with an intestine-specific VDR t…